


The Question

by bewdofchaos



Series: Paranormality [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Federal Agents, Fluff, Humor, Inspired by The X-Files, M/M, Mystery, One-Shot, Satire, the most important question in all of Yu-Gi-Oh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:30:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25120129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewdofchaos/pseuds/bewdofchaos
Summary: Special Agents Atem Sennen and Yugi Muto set out to answer one of the greatest mysteries of all time. No one has ever found the answer to this question, but maybe, just maybe, these two skilled agents can.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi
Series: Paranormality [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819615
Comments: 26
Kudos: 36





	The Question

**Author's Note:**

  * For [auroraXborealis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/auroraXborealis/gifts).



> I was given a challenge, and this one was much too good to pass up! I hope you enjoy it, Aurora! Hah!
> 
> [Technically a continuation of the Pine Bluff Duality (see part 1 of this series), but can be enjoyed as a stand alone... although it's definitely better in context!]

One of the things Atem liked about working in the Department of Unexplained Cases was that there was always something to do. There was an abundance of cases to work on, many of which were kept at his fingertips just waiting to be solved. He loved working here, that is, until one day he was told to do the very thing he despised.

“Are you sure you don’t need help with something else?” Atem asked again, brow furrowing.

“No, I’ve got everything else under control.” Yugi walked around to stand in front of Atem’s desk. “But it would be a real help if you could organize the filing cabinet. It’s an absolute mess.”

Atem opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly silenced by a finger.

“I’ll owe you one.” The corners of Yugi’s mouth quirked coyly. Damn him.

Atem let out the breath he had been holding in a slow sigh. “Only for you.”

“Thanks Atem.” The smile spread, impish and satisfied. Working with your boyfriend had its perks, but not today. Atem had been played. Played _expertly_.

He got up from his chair and made his way towards the metal cabinet that contained his own personal portal to hell. With a grumble under his breath, he opened up the top shelf, grabbed as many files and he could and hauled them onto the solitary unoccupied desk.

Papers. Numbers. Manila. His eyes scanned the case numbers robotically as he sorted and shuffled paper around. To what avail? He would never know. Thirty three minutes in, and the weapons of mind destruction turned against him. He nearly lost his fingertip in the war. Forty one minutes in, and Atem thought he saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but alas, it was only the florescent light overhead as he succumbed to his injury, laying listless on the floor.

Two amethyst eyes popped into view. “Are you ok?”

He was not. Atem groaned his response, letting his eyes shut for what may very well be the last time.

“How are you tired already? You’ve only been at it for ten minutes, Atem!”

Atem’s eyes snapped open. He looked at his watch… _dammit._

“Come on, you drama pharaoh.” Yugi said with a chuckle. “You’ve still got a long way to go.”

Then he was gone. Atem laid on the ground for a second longer before getting up. Be damned if he was going to let something like a little numericalization get the best of him! With new life breathed into him, Atem got up and started tackling the nearest stacks of files with renewed gusto. As he went to grab the first one, a couple pages slipped out from it.

Atem bent over to retrieve the rouge records, stealing a quick glance at them before putting them back. He stopped with a thoughtful hum. On the glossy page was a photo of a Duel Monsters card. How strange. What is a Duel Monsters card doing in one of the X-Files?

He squinted at the page. _Pot of Greed._ He had never seen this card before! He skimmed over the illustration of the strange appearing pot with a grotesque face to read the card’s text. It somehow got stranger. It was redacted.

“Yugi…” Atem murmured.

“Yeah? Did you find something interesting?”

“Have you seen this card before?”

Atem proffered the picture for his partner to peruse. Yugi joined him by the empty desk, and let out a small murmur of recognition.

“That’s Pot of Greed!”

“So you do recognize it. What does it do?”

Yugi gasped. “Did you just ask me that?”

“What?”

“Did you just ask me what Pot of Greed does?”

Atem blinked. “Uh, yes.”

“Atem, no one knows what Pot of Greed does.”

What does he mean? _No one_ knows what it does? “How is this possible? It’s a Duel Monsters card. Industrial Illusions made it. Someone must know what it does!”

“Atem, this case is one of the greatest mysteries of all time. Actually, it might be _the_ greatest mystery of all time. No one has ever been able to solve it.”

Yugi reached around him to grab the rest of the file. “See? No one knows.”

Sure enough, as the file was flipped, what Yugi had claimed became clear. Redacted cards, news clippings, interviews with people frantically screaming at the doors of Industrial Illusions asking the same question. What. Does. It. Do?

“Yugi, I need to figure this out.”

“Atem, it’s a losing battle. You’ll never figure it out. No one has.”

Atem loved Yugi, but sometimes, his partner grossly underestimated his capabilities. But really, their capabilities. Atem chuckled, a smirk forming on his face. “Maybe I won’t, but together we have a chance.”

The look Yugi gave him nearly tore his heart in two. That anguish and trepidation melted away to expose a glimmer of hope. “You’re right. We solved the Millennium Killings. We unearthed secret societies. We proved aliens existed —”

“We never did that.” Atem interjected quickly. Yugi was not deterred.

“We proved aliens exited.” Yugi repeated, his smile growing. “If there is anyone who can figure out what Pot of Greed does, it's us!”

With that, the search started.

Atem started his deep dive into the FBI databases to see if they held any mention of what this card does. He did not eat, he did not drink. He barely moved for the next sixteen hours before he finally broke. After a eating a bag of chips he kept stashed in his desk for this very purpose, he passed out underneath his desk.

Atem woke up at 1 pm the next morning with a start and a wicked kink in his neck. That night (or rather, morning) had become all consumed by this one card. What does it do? And why was this information so hard to find?

As he booted up his computer again, he let his mind mull over the possibilities. Maybe this card’s effect was like a myth from an ancient civilization, lost to the sands of time? Or perhaps, it has been redacted from all sources because it was a threat to national security? Atem swallowed thickly as he entered his credentials into the next governmental database. Maybe it was better if he never knew…

Too late now. He needed to find out the answer.

Over the next few days, Atem spent all of his waking hours digging into and puzzling over this problem. No matter where he searched, he could not find anything! Even Google would not provide him with the information he sought. Atem had tried calling Industrial Illusions directly to see if they could tell him what Pot of Greed does, but Maximilian Pegasus did not know what this card did. How is this possible?! With a rough sigh, Atem sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair. He needed more coffee.

Atem lifted his head off his desk. His vision was bleary and his mouth tasted awful. He groaned as he sat up gingerly. What time was it? How long had he been asleep for? Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to see it was 7:30 AM. Another night spent at the office. He fished out the mouthwash he kept in his desk drawer and went to the bathroom clean up. He splashed water on his face, turning his gaze to the mirror briefly. He looked haggard and weary beyond belief. And he smelled a bit. Wincing, he tried to arrange his hair as best as possible. His hair…. wait a second.

“Where’s Yugi?” He asked himself, watching his own crimson eyes go wide.

With a muttered curse, Atem ran back to their office.

“Yugi?”

No answer.

“Yugi!" Atem called again as he rushed towards Yugi’s desk. Empty. How long had it been empty? Atem did not know. He had last seen Yugi… when? Five days ago? No, that can’t be right.

Atem fumbled for his phone amongst the sea of coffee cups on his desk. His last three texts to Yugi, sent three days ago, were never replied to.

“What the —” Atem muttered as he tapped at the screen a little too hard. He made the call. It rang and rang. No response. With another curse, he ended the call. Oh no.

Just as his panic started to crest, Atem heard the click of a doorknob twisting from behind him.

“Oh hey!” A familiar voice greeted.

Atem’s head spun towards the doorway at a dizzying speed, the momentum nearly toppling his run down body over in the process. “Yugi… Where… what…?” Atem could not find the words.

“Oh yeah, I was just doing some research on Pot of — ah!” The wind was knocked from Yugi’s lungs as Atem rushed in. From within Atem’s nearly crushing hug, Yugi managed a laugh. “Oh, I missed you too.”

“I was worried about you! You did not reply to my messages and I, ah…” Atem trailed off.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I got a bit distracted with my investigation.” Yugi pushed Atem away. His smile morphed into a frown. “You look… smell like you haven’t showered in days. Did you —”

“Not important.” Atem said dismissively, pulling fully out of their embrace. “What did you find?”

“Ahh, well I hope you had better luck than I did.” Yugi started with a shake of his head. “I couldn’t find anything.”

“Nothing?” Atem murmured, his disappointment bleeding through.

“Yeah. I ended up pulling up my contacts in the alien community. They didn’t know anything. I spent a night consulting my Ouija board. The spirits did not know anything about what Pot of Greed does.”

Atem’s eyes widened incredulously. He can’t be serious…

“Oh by the way, I may need to stay at your place for a bit. After that last seance, I think my apartment is haunted.” Yugi shrugged. “Then I talked to this psychic and still nothing!”

“Yugi…” Atem started.

“So I did the last thing that I could think of. I took a trip to Egypt to visit the Millennium items. They are incredibly powerful and maybe they hold the key to the mystery.”

“You didn’t…”

Yugi stared at him blankly.

“You did not respond to my texts… for three days… because you were in Egypt?!”

“I sent you a text…”

“It said ‘BRB talk to you later’ THREE DAYS AGO!” Atem’s booming yell rang through the office.

Yugi’s blank stare broke. He devolved into a fit of laughter so strong that he needed to lean up against a desk to steady himself. Atem was not pleased.

“Tell me the meaning of this!”

Yugi wheezed at the command, further doubling over in uncontrollable laughter. Atem fumed. He was so worried! How could Yugi take this so lightly!

“Ate-Atem… Ahh hah. I didn’t go to Egypt.” Yugi finally admitted a bit breathlessly. “It was a long weekend. I was at home!”

Atem blinked in surprise. “What…”

“You were so engrossed in your research on Friday that you even turned down date night! I wanted to see how long you’d stay like this. I’ve never seen you so driven before. It's, ah, kinda hot.” Yugi admitted as a blush formed across his cheeks.

“You… you… shouldn’t say that sort of thing at work.”

Yugi lost it again.

Atem watched as his partner shook against the desk. His initial fear had abated, and was replaced by a weary content. He had spent an entire week combing through every database and resource he could think of to answer life’s greatest mystery: what does Pot of Greed do? But really, he should have been asking himself a completely different question. Just how did he end up so lucky to have found a partner like Yugi?

And also, where is the nearest shower?

**Author's Note:**

> Reread the tags. It will all make sense...
> 
> And if you liked this, check out these two agent's first adventure in [The Pine Bluff Duality](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23580154).
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://atems-leather-pants.tumblr.com)


End file.
